


Happiest Place on Earth

by CompulsiveBowlers



Category: Rent - Larson
Genre: Christmas, Disney World, Multi, Road Trips, mark and mimi are in college together, mention of cheating, mentions of maureen/benny, mentions of past maureen/joanne, roger is a barista
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-07 20:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17967434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CompulsiveBowlers/pseuds/CompulsiveBowlers
Summary: Roger desperately wants to surprise Mark and Mimi with a special Christmas gift, and Joanne has the perfect idea





	1. A Special Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Fully inspired by tumblr user meetyourmarker
> 
> I just have a big soft side for markermi fluff and theres seriously not enough of it out there

It was finally winter break. Mark and Mimi had just finished their first semester at the local community college, and they were both delighted to finally have some time to relax without the stress of finals and deadlines. Roger was thrilled that his boyfriend and girlfriend would be around all the time for the next month. No more slipping out of bed to make it to campus for an 8am class, or staying up until dawn to cram for an exam. Roger would never admit it out loud, but he was slightly jealous of all the time Mark and Mimi had been spending together without him. He knew it was irrational, but there was still a small part of him that was afraid they would leave him now that they were pursuing an education and he wasn’t. To distract himself, he’d picked up some extra shifts at the coffee shop down the street, especially when Mark and Mimi were spending all day in the library the weeks leading up to finals. Roger really didn’t enjoy pouring coffees all day, but he certainly couldn’t complain about the paycheck his additional shifts were bringing in, especially right before Christmas.  He desperately wanted to get Mark and Mimi a real gift this year, not something stupid like what he had gotten them last year. No, this year he was determined to surprise them with something meaningful, something that would really show them how much he cared.

While Mark and Mimi were busy studying for their Psychology final, Roger had snuck over to visit Joanne at work. If anyone could give him advice on what to give Mark and Mimi for Christmas, it was Joanne. She was definitely the best gift-giver of the gang, and it wasn’t just because she was the only one with a steady income. No, Joanne just always seemed to know exactly what to get someone, no matter the occasion. As Roger made his way up to her office, he found himself fiddling with his shirt, feeling extremely underdressed compared to the men and women in business attire he was sharing an elevator with. No matter how many times he visited Joanne at work, he never could get used to the fact that it felt like an entirely different world when compared with the loft he called home.

 

He finally arrived at the 7th floor, and excused himself from the elevator and walked down the hall to Joanne’s office. He knocked lightly on the door, and he heard Joanne call him in.

 

“Hey Joanne,” Roger said sheepishly, running his hand through his dirty blonde curls. “Thanks for letting me drop by like this.”

 

“Anytime. What’s up?” she replied, putting down the file she had been looking over before he arrived.

 

“I need your advice. I want to get Mark and Mimi something special for Christmas, but I have no idea what to get,” Roger blushed as he sat down in the leather chair across from Joanne’s desk.

 

“Hmm. What did you get them last year?” she asked.

 

“It was dumb. I got them each a new razor and a coupon to do whatever they wanted in the bedroom,” he chuckled, seeing Joanne smirk at him. “But this year I want to do something really special. They’ve both been working so hard with school, and I want them to know how much I care.”

 

“Aww, is Roger getting soft in his old age?” Joanne teased. It really was adorable to see the change in Roger since he started dating Mark and Mimi. He finally seemed happy.

 

The two friends chatted for nearly an hour, Joanne tossing out ideas and Roger quickly realizing that he couldn’t afford any of the wonderful gifts she was suggesting. Noticing the change in his demeanor, Joanne decided to ask the question that they had clearly been avoiding. 

 

“Roger, how much do you have to spend on a gift?”

 

“I have, like, $200 saved up. I know it's not much, but I’ve been working extra shifts to try to save a little extra. I wasn’t really expecting to be the only one earning an income, but there was no way Mark could stay at Buzzline and go back to school, and we both know how I felt about Mimi working at the Cat Scratch Club.”

 

Joanne chuckled. EVERYONE knew how possessive Roger and Mark were of Mimi, and it was clear that it caused them physical pain to know that other men were ogling their girlfriend every night while she danced around practically naked. Honestly, even Joanne didn’t like the idea of Mimi working at the club. Mimi had become like her little sister, and Joanne couldn’t help but feel protective of her. Everyone was secretly relieved when Mimi had announced that summer that she would be quitting her job and going back to school.

 

“Well in that case, why don’t you take this. It was supposed to be my gift for Maureen, but, well, you know…” Joanne got suddenly quiet when she brought up the diva, who she had caught in bed with Benny the week before.

 

“Oh Joanne, I could never…” Roger began.

 

“No, please. I want you to. I, I just don’t want them to go to waste.”

 

Roger looked inside the envelope, although he had a feeling he knew what was in there already. Joanne had been planning to surprise Maureen with tickets to Disney World as a Christmas gift. Now that Joanne had ended things with Maureen for good, she had no desire to use the tickets, but when she called to find out about getting a refund, she was told that it was too late.

 

“I know there’s only two tickets, but I can loan you the money for a third one. As a matter of fact, I insist. Consider this my Christmas gift to all three of you. You’ve all been working your asses off over the last few months and you deserve a vacation.”

 

“You have no idea how much I appreciate this Joanne. I promise we’ll get you a really nice souvenir!”

 

“You’d better!” she joked as she playfully slapped Roger on the shoulder. “And you’d better head out soon, Mark and Mimi will be home soon, and you all need to pack!”

 


	2. Surprise

By the time Roger made it back to the loft, Mark and Mimi had already gotten home from their last final of the semester, and they were curled up on the couch, fast asleep. Roger glanced at the tv sitting in front of them, and noticed that they had fallen asleep watching a Christmas movie marathon. He took of his jacket, tossing it on the kitchen table before settling in next to Mark, who was asleep sitting up, with Mimi’s head resting on his lap. Roger wrapped his arm around him, and reached down to rub Mimi’s head with the other arm. The gentle touch was just enough to wake Mimi, who smiled as she realized that it was Roger who was playing with her curls, not Mark for once. Roger leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. The movement caused Mark to stir, slowly waking up and realizing that his boyfriend had joined them on the couch.

 

“Morning sleepyheads,” Roger chuckled as Mark stretched his sore body. 

 

“We’re officially on winter break now!” Mimi giggled, planting a kiss on each man’s cheek.

 

“How was your final?” Roger asked, snuggling onto Mark’s shoulder. Somehow Mark always ended up serving as a pillow for both Mimi and Roger, not that he was complaining.

“I’ve never been so glad to be done with something in my life,” Mark chuckled. 

 

“Can you believe she expected us to write a 3 page essay and answer 200 multiple choice questions in two hours?” Mimi asked, sitting up.

 

“For real? Man am I glad I’m not taking classes with you guys,” Roger laughed.

 

They spent the next hour snuggling on the couch, half-watching whatever Christmas movie was on the TV, but focusing more on sharing sweet kisses and gentle caresses. They finally decided that it was time to get up and cook dinner when Mimi’s stomach began to growl, and she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. While Mimi and Mark heated up the leftover Chinese food from the night before, Roger retreated to the bedroom to put together his surprise. 

 

After they had all eaten their fill of fried rice and egg rolls, Mimi went to clear the dishes, but Roger interrupted her.

 

“Wait, before we clean up, I have a surprise for both of you!”

 

“Ooh, a surprise! I love surprises!” Mimi squealed, earning a chuckle from both Mark and Roger. Sometimes they seriously wondered if Mimi was really 20, because she acted like a 6 year old.

 

Roger handed them each an envelope and instructed them to open them at the same time. Mark and Mimi counted to 3 together before ripping open their respective envelope. Inside, they each had strips of paper with words written in Roger’s messy handwriting. Roger instructed them to piece the strips together to reveal their gift. After about 15 minutes, they had finally pieced together Roger’s message: “We’re going on a road trip to” 

 

“A road trip!” Mark cheered, ignoring the fact that the message didn’t tell them where they were going. He had never been on a road trip before, and he was fascinated by the concept.

 

“But where are we going?” Mimi asked. Of course Mimi would be the sensible one who wanted to know where they were going before celebrating.

 

Roger pulled out a third envelope, and Mimi quickly tore it open and emptied its contents onto the table. This time, instead of strips of paper with full words, each strip of paper had an individual letter. Mark let out an audible groan at the fact that they had to solve another puzzle. It took slightly longer this time, but Mark and Mimi finally pieced it together.

“Disney World! Eeek!” Mimi was literally squealing at this point, and Mark was running around the kitchen in circles. Roger took this to mean that his gift was a success, and made a mental note to call Joanne later to thank her.

 

“I just wanted to do something special for you guys to celebrate how hard you’ve been working the past few months. Now c’mon, we need to pack. We leave first thing tomorrow morning!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh I love these losers.


	3. The Journey Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that people are actually enjoying this! I know this is another really short chapter, but I dislocated a rib yesterday so I have to stay flat on my back for the next few days, which makes it really hard to write.

The next morning, Mimi was awake before either of the boys. She unwound herself from Roger’s torso, being careful not to disturb Mark, who was also tightly wrapped around him. She rolled over to glance at the clock on the nightstand. It was only 4:45, but there was no way she was going to be able to fall back asleep. They were planning to get up at six so they could eat breakfast before hitting the road, so Mimi decided that she might as well just get up and start cooking. She had recently discovered that she genuinely enjoyed cooking for her boys, and based on the reactions she got every time, she was pretty good at it too. 

 

Mimi made her way into the small kitchen and started looking through the cabinets to decide what she would make. There wasn’t much, but she managed to find a box of pancake mix and some chocolate chips, so pancakes it would be. She pulled the large plastic mixing bowl out from under the sink and gave it a quick rinse to make sure it was clean, and then went to work on breakfast.

 

Around 5:30, Mark and Roger slowly made their way out of the bedroom, awoken by the smell of coffee. Mimi had set the table and started a pot of coffee before getting in the shower. Mark chuckled as he heard her soft voice singing one of Roger’s songs from the shower in the corner of the kitchen. Roger had fallen asleep again as soon as he sat down at the table, and Mark couldn’t help but laugh. They all knew Roger was the furthest thing from a morning person, but he was the one who had decided that they should leave so early for their trip. Mark went over to the coffee maker and poured 3 mugs, adding cream and sugar to his, and just sugar to Mimi’s. He carried the three steaming mugs carefully to the table, placing Roger’s mug in front of him. Roger woke up as soon as he smelled the coffee by his face, sitting up and wrapping Mark in a hug. The two men sat in relative silence, drinking their coffee and waiting for Mimi to finish her shower. 

 

Ten minutes later, Mark heard the shower turn off and he got up to start cooking the pancake batter Mimi had left on the counter. Roger was already on his third cup of coffee, desperately trying to wake up. Mimi stepped out of the shower wrapped in a towel, wet hair clinging to her back. She pressed a kiss to Roger’s forehead and walked over to the stove to wrap Mark in a hug before slipping into the bedroom to get dressed. By the time she was finished, Mark was placing a plate stacked high with pancakes on the table. Roger was at the fridge, trying to figure out where they had put the syrup. He finally found it, hidden behind the beer bottles in the door. They all sat down at the table and ate in relative silence. All three of them were still exhausted, but the excitement of their impending trip was enough to keep them awake. 

 

By seven, Mark and Roger were loading their bags into the car they were borrowing from Collins. Mimi was running around the loft making sure they hadn’t forgotten anything important and locking all of the windows. Satisfied that they had everything they needed, she made her way downstairs to join the boys. Since Mark was the only one with a license, he was sitting in his place behind the wheel. Mimi had made a schedule the night before that laid out where they would stop along the way, and who would be in the passenger seat when. Roger had earned the first turn, considering he was the reason they were taking the trip in the first place, so Mimi hopped into her place in the backseat, which meant she got to choose the music. She handed Mark a cassette tape, and Roger groaned as he heard the cheesy pop song coming through the speakers. 

 

“When do I get to choose the music?” he whined, resting his head against the window.

 

“Let’s see, we switch seats when we reach Philly, so that’ll be about two hours if we don’t hit too much traffic,” she giggled, earning another groan from Roger.

 

“This is going to be a long trip, isn’t it,” Mark asked, rolling his eyes as Roger reached over to slap him.


End file.
